The director claimed the character was ‘very cool’ and ‘fascinating’ in an interview with The Los Angeles Times.

‘With Bane, the physicality is the thing,’ he said.

‘With a good villain you need an archetype, you know, you need the extreme of some type of villainy.

‘The Joker is obviously a particular archetype of diabolical, chaotic anarchy and has a devilish sense of humor. Bane, to me, is something we havenât dealt with in the films.

Nolan, who cast Inception star Tom Hardy in the role, added: ‘We wanted to do something very different in this film.

‘Heâs a primarily physical villain, heâs a classic movie monster in a way â but with a terrific brain. I think heâs a fascinating character.Â I think people are going to get a kick out of what weâve done with him.’

The Dark Knight Rises is set eight years after The Dark Knight and Nolan explained that the jump in time would ‘make a lot more sense’ when they cinema-goers watched the film.

‘Itâs not a great mystery â itâs the jumping-off point for the film â but itâs hard for me to articulate it.’

Christian Bale will be starring once again as Bruce Wayne and his alter ego Batman.